Is your Stomach in Knots?

Hello!

I'm just starting my new blog. I'm new to this process so please be patient as I catch up with the 21st century!

Let me give you the basic backstory to my decision to start this blog. I'm frustrated, sick, tired, and out of options when it comes to dealing with my debt situation and I need a sounding board. I've been lied to, taken advantage of (plain out screwed over), and spent many nights crying and fighting with my fiance over money even though we said we would never fight about money.

First of all, I am not unemployed. I am employed for a countertop manufacturer in a small town that is a major supplier to our nations' top home centers. I am in charge of pricing, costing, reporting, commissions, and database administration. I was a project lead when implementing our new ERP system and it was in German so I have worked in international business.

Now you may be thinking that I make $80,000, $100,000 or even $120,000 per year to do all of this. Well, at one point I was making $40,000. I thought for my age and education level that was a fortune. Then the housing bubble burst. All of a sudden I found myself making $26,000 or facing being laid off (code for fired in our business). I had just bought a house and had bought a new (2 year old used) car the year before. How do you go from making $40,000 (plus overtime) to making $28,000 and make ends meet in a small town? You get a second job. You move. You sell everything you own. You prioritize your debts. I only had a few options for a second job since most businesses in our town close at 5:00 and other jobs in my field are rare. Move? Not an option at this point as my parents are here and my fiance was moved from town to town as a child after his father died and now loves the stability I give him by being a creature of habit. We don't own anything but what we did own we sold for a fraction of the cost we owed on it. I prioritized my debts. I got garnished.

When I took the pay cut I was told "Don't worry - we will recover and this will bounce back". That was over a year and a half ago. I did the right thing. I called all of my creditors and told them what was going on and they all were willing to work with me - at first. My employer then told me I would get my wages back in 30 days, 90 days, 120 days...you get the picture. Eventually, I got frustrated and got a second job. It didn't pay enough to make up the difference - I started to get garnished by Beneficial and the picture got bleaker. My earnings at my local video store were not enough to cover my pay cut and the garnishment. Then the local video store filed bankruptcy last month and I got let go. Now I am down to my primary job that is being garnished and in Ohio they garnish 25% of every paycheck. They don't allow you one check a month to live! Once you get garnished, it seems as thought there is nothing you can do but file bankruptcy. But wait! The new bankruptcy laws make bankruptcy too expensive to file. It costs $1,000 to file and $1,000 right now may as well be $1,000,000. I live paycheck to paycheck and most of the time not even until the weekend after my paycheck is issued.

I know I am not alone. I read every day about the foreclosure and unemployment rates in our state. I see people suffering because they can't afford what they could afford yesterday and it hurts. I was an honors student, in the top 10% of my class in high school (out of 183 students) and attended Miami University after high school. I left college due to a family situation in my first semester and have forever paid the price. I understand my bad decisions and get so upset when I read other posts where people who have never had bad luck condone debt and the inability to pay.

I want to make things right but banks can only let you go so long. I understand that. I tried debt consolidation last summer - they stole $900 from me before I could blink an eye and when I tried to fight back I was told to hire an attorney. Right - an attorney - if I could hire one of those, I wouldn't be here. I got a grant from HUD to save my house last fall. Now I am facing losing the house again. I am a good person. I don't deserve this. My stomach hurts. What do you do to battle debt? I am trying to fix this and if you have been through this or are one of the many that are going through this, you should find my posts interesting.